International Program in Design and Architecture

What International Program in Design and Architecture does

INDA (International Program in Design and Architecture) is a four-year, pre-professional Bachelor of Science in Architectural Design program embedded within Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Architecture in Bangkok, Thailand. Founded in 2006 to meet demand for English-language architecture instruction that prepares students for international graduate study, the program has grown from an initial cohort of ~40 students to 300+ enrolled students across four year-groups. Its core offering is a studio-based curriculum (Design I–V, Architectural Design I–V) complemented by signature courses in Tropical Architecture, Southeast Asian Architecture, Architecture Community Ecology, and Urban Design, plus a hands-on Design Build program that constructs facilities for rural Thai communities. Annual programmatic anchors include the nine-day DEX (Design Experimentation Workshop) with international practitioners, the INDA Parade student exhibition, and yearbook publications.

The program's technical infrastructure centers on INDA LAB, a fabrication facility opened in 2022 that houses CNC machining, laser cutting, 3D printing, photo, free/assembly, and workshop labs supporting parametric and computational design workflows. Faculty are recruited globally from institutions including the Architectural Association, Harvard GSD, MIT, Columbia, Cornell, UC Berkeley, Pratt, the Bartlett, SCI-Arc, and Chalmers, with international instructors drawn from 11 countries. INDA holds Architecture Council of Thailand (ACT) accreditation (since 2013, with recertification in 2019 and 2022), enabling graduates to pursue the Thai Professional Architect license after two years of practice. Sustained international partnerships — with Parsons The New School, Meiji University, ETH Zurich, ETSA Madrid, and corporate sponsor Mitsubishi Elevator Thailand — underpin traveling studios and design-build collaborations.

As a non-profit academic program operating inside a public university, INDA generates revenue through student tuition processed via Chulalongkorn University's admissions system and does not disclose pricing. Its go-to-market is direct-to-consumer recruitment of prospective undergraduate students globally through the cuinda.com website, virtual open houses, Facebook, design talks, and institutional partnerships. The single named institutional customer is Chulalongkorn University itself; the end-customers are individual undergraduate students. No external funding rounds, subsidiaries, M&A activity, or app/API product lines exist, and the program has no independent legal entity separate from the university.

Name

International Program in Design and Architecture

Legal name

International Program in Design and Architecture (INDA), Chulalongkorn University

Website

https://cuinda.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

INDA is the English-language four-year pre-professional Bachelor of Science in Architectural Design program at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Architecture in Bangkok, serving 300+ undergraduate students through studio curriculum, fabrication labs, and design-build community projects with ACT-accredited professional licensing eligibility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education (Architecture and Design)

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (611610), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

akta.pro primary industry

Architecture Schools (within Arts & Design institutions) (EDAHAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Design Colleges (Graphic, Industrial, UX/UI, Interior) (EDAHAJAB), Technical Universities with Architecture, Built Environment & Design Engineering (EDAHAEAJ)

Keywords

• Architecture education
• Undergraduate design program
• Architectural design degree
• Design build workshops
• Tropical architecture studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Bangkok

HQ country

Thailand

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Academic Fees: INDA is a four-year pre-professional Bachelor of Science in Architectural Design program. Revenue is generated through student tuition and academic fees from enrolled undergraduate students.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

INDA delivers a four-year pre-professional Bachelor of Science in Architectural Design taught in English within Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Architecture in Bangkok. The program combines progressive studio courses (Design I–V, Architectural Design I–V) with annual Design Experimentation Workshops (DEX), hands-on Design Build community projects, and digital fabrication facilities (INDA LAB). It is accredited by the Architecture Council of Thailand and prepares graduates for international graduate study or professional licensure in Thailand.

Product overview

INDA (International Program in Design and Architecture) is an English-language four-year pre-professional Bachelor of Science in Architectural Design program at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. The program offers a comprehensive curriculum combining design studio courses (Design I-V, Architectural Design I-V), hands-on design build projects for communities, and the annual DEX (Design Experimentation Workshop). Supporting infrastructure includes INDA LAB for digital fabrication (CNC, laser cutting, 3D printing). The program is supplemented by annual yearbook publications documenting student work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bachelor of Science in Architectural Design Four-year pre-professional undergraduate degree program in architectural design taught in English at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, focused on design innovation, international perspectives, and tropical/Southeast Asian architecture. Graduates receive an ACT-accredited degree eligible to sit for the Thai Architecture licensing exam after two years of practice.
• Design Experimentation Workshop (DEX) Annual nine-day workshop program for third-year INDA students in which participants work closely with international practitioners to explore new ways of thinking, making, communicating, and experimenting in architecture and design.
• INDA LAB Digital Fabrication Facility Digital fabrication and making facility at INDA offering Free/Assembly Lab, Photo Lab, Workshop Lab, CNC Lab, LaserCut Lab, and 3D Printing Lab supporting student design and construction work.
• Design Build for Community Projects Hands-on community service learning program in which INDA students design and construct facilities for underprivileged communities in rural Thailand, partnering with international institutions and corporate sponsors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Accredited by Architecture Council of Thailand since 2013

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Istituto Italiano di Cultura di BangkokminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025Generous supporter of DEX 2025 workshop. The workshop takes place December 11-19, 2025 at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.
• Mitsubishi Elevator (Thailand) Co., LTDcoreOthers · 1 June 2018Main sponsor for Design Build for Community program, which focuses on providing new communal spaces to underprivileged communities in rural Thailand. Co-sponsored the Bang Nong Saeng Kindergarten project.
• ETSA MadridcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2015Parallel design studio partnership during academic year 2015-16. Students from both institutions worked on Amphibious Architecture projects in wetlands contexts in Spain and Thailand.
• Parsons The New School (New York)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration for workshops and traveling studios. INDA partners with Parsons for ongoing academic exchange and design education programs.
• Meiji University (Japan)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration facilitated through DEX workshops and academic exchange programs between the two institutions.
• ETH ZurichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational institution collaboration for design education and student engagement activities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore (NUS): Singapore's premier English-medium architecture school, ranked among Asia's top programs. Competes with INDA for international applicants who might otherwise choose NUS for an English-language architecture education in SE Asia.
• Department of Architecture, University of Hong Kong (HKU): Another leading English-medium architecture program in Asia, with strong international faculty and graduate pathways. Targets a similar international applicant pool as INDA from across Asia.

Emerging players

• Royal College of Art (RCA): Where INDA's Year 2 Coordinator (Tom Jenkins) trained. An emerging-design leader whose pedagogical approach and industry ties overlap with INDA's DEX workshop model.
• School of Architecture and Planning, MIT (SA+P): Hosts collaborative studios and faculty exchanges with INDA through partnerships. Represents an emerging global benchmark in design computation and fabrication that overlaps with INDA LAB's focus areas.

Broad incumbents

• Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA): World-leading architecture school in London where INDA's Director (Dr. Chittabongs) trained. AA serves as both a key graduate-study destination for INDA alumni and a benchmark for experimental design pedagogy that INDA explicitly emulates.
• The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL: Top global architecture school where several INDA faculty (e.g., Year 4 Coordinator, Deputy Director of Administration) trained. Represents the aspirational graduate destination for top INDA students.
• MIT Department of Architecture: Where INDA's founder (Dr. Preechaya Sittipunt) earned her MS. Represents the upper-tier global benchmark for INDA's pedagogy and a primary graduate destination for high-achieving INDA alumni.
• Parsons The New School for Design: Strategic partner of INDA for workshops and traveling studios. A globally recognized design school with overlapping faculty networks and a similar experimental-design ethos that competes for the same international applicant pool.

Direct peers

• Faculty of Architecture, Silpakorn University: Thailand's other leading architecture school, founded in 1943. Competes with INDA for top Thai high school applicants seeking architecture degrees and shares ACT-accreditation-driven licensure pathways.
• Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University (Thai-language program): The Thai-language sibling program at Chulalongkorn's Faculty of Architecture, founded in 1939. It trains the same student pool for the same Thai licensure exam, providing the most direct comparator for curriculum, faculty, and outcomes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cuinda

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Program in Design and Architecture